April 9th, 2017

Time: 4:45 pm
Date: 4/9/17
Locations: Oakledge Park
Habitat: Shoreline and Wooded areas.
Weather: 72°F, Wind W, and 10 mph. Sunny.
Note: This report is late because because of a scheduling error. I wrote down that this assignment was due on the 14th.
I returned to a birding location that I had visited when it was very snowy. Some of the year round residents were still there. I heard a Black-capped Chickadee calling and a Northern Cardinal singing his territorial song. I also saw a Hairy Woodpecker climbing about on a tree branch. The Northern Cardinals eat berries and seeds, both of which are abundant in the South End in winter. The Hairy Woodpecker forages for grubs and beetles under the bark, and they are also available all year round. The Black-capped Chickadee has developed a strong caching behavior. These caches help these birds survive if their favorite seeds become less plentiful.
I also saw a new group of tiny birds who I had never seen before. There were about six of them flitting around in a pair of pine trees. After some time, I identified them as Pine Siskins. Pine Siskins are a facultative migrant. They spend most of their time roaming in open areas, but in the spring time, they seek out pine trees to nest in, and there are plenty of those along the Burlington waterfront.
Mini Activity. The three winter residents probably spend most of the season within a range of a few miles. The Pine Siskins, on the other hand though found in Burlington year round, sometimes choose to winter 50 or so miles away in Southern Vermont, and sometimes as far away as Florida (1,266 mi).

Posted on April 12, 2017 03:46 AM by